Door-latch.



A. B. GRUBER.

DOOR LATCH.

APPLICATION FILED JAN-7,19l6.

Patentedfiept. 5,1916. I I

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

Attorneys 7 A. B. GRUBER.

DOOR LATCH.

VAPPLIMTION man JAN-7.1916.

Patented Sept. 5, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Attorneys bination and arrangement of ARCHI'BALD B. GRUBER, OF SANBERNARDINO, CALIFORNIA.

DOOR-LATCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented dept. 5, 1%16.

Application filed January 7, 1916. Serial No. 70,823.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that ll, ARcHIBALo B. GRU- nnn, a citizen of the UnitedStates, resid-- ing at San Bernardino, in the county of SanBernardinoand State of California, have invented a new and usefulDoor-Latch,

of which the following is a specification.

The present invention appertains to door latches, and aims to provide anovel and improved device of that character.

lltis the object of the invention to provide a door latch wherein it isnot necessary to rotate the knobs for retracting the latch bolt, butinstead, plungers are used, said plungers being operatively connected ina novel manner with the latch bolt, whereby when one of the plungers ispressed or pushed, it will retract the latch bolt to enable the door toswing open easily.

It is also within the scope of the invention to provide a latch devlceof the nature indicated, which is comparatively sim le and inexpensiveconstruction, as well as eing practical and eflicient in use.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention resides in the comarts and in thedetails of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it beingunderstood that changes in the precise embodiment of the inventionherein disclosed can be made within the scope of what is claimed withoutdeparting from the spirit of the-invention.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein?-Figure 1 is an elevation of a door lock" embodying the improved latchdevice, a portion of the casing being broken away to ex pose the latchdevice. Figs. 2 and .3 are sectional views taken on the lines 2-2 and3-3, respectively, of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a View similar to Fig. 1 of amodification. Figs. 5 and 6 are sectional views taken on the lines 5-5and 66, respectively, of Fig. 4.

As illustrated, the device is employed in a mortise lock, although it isto be understood that the latch device can be used upon various locksand for various purposes. In carrying out the invention, there isprovided a case 1 adapted to fit within a mortise 2 in the edge of adoor 3, said case having a face plate 4 attached to the edge of the dooras usual.

A latch bolt 5 is slidable through the face plate 4, and is providedwithin the case 1 with a longitudinal slot 6 through which a screw orretaining element 7 extends, said screw being in threaded engagementwith one side of the case 1, and having its head overlapping theopposite side of the latch bolt to hold said latch bolt for slidingmovement within the case.

Mounted for reciprocatory movement within the case 1 above and parallelwith the latch bolt 5 is an elongated member .8, provided with a pair ofalining longitudinal slots 9, and a screw or retaining element isengagedthrough each of the slots 9 and threadedly or otherwise engagesthat side of the case 1 engaged by the screw 7. The screws 10 have headsoverlapping the member 8 to hold said member in position,

and a coiled wire expansion spring 11 is disposed within one slot 9between the respective screw 10 and the remote end of the said slot 9 tomove the member 8 rearwardly when it is released.

The latch bolt 5 is operatively connected with the member 8, wherebywhen the memher 8 is forced forwardly, the bolt 5 will be retracted, andto this end the upper edge of the bolt 5 has a longitudinal series ofrack teeth 12, while the lower edge of the member 8 is provided with acomplementing longitudinal series of rackteeth 13. A pinion 14.intermeshing with both sets of teeth is mounted for rotation upon a,pintle 15 threadedly or otherwise engaged with that side of the case 1carrying the screws 7 and 10. The pinion 14 thus connects the member 8and bolt 5 for simultaneous movement in opposite directions, whereby itis possible to apply a forward pressure to the member 8 for retractingthe latch bolt. The spring 11 will normally move the member 8rearwardly, and thus project the latch bolt, so that the latch bolt willsnap into the keeper (not shown) attached to the jamb of the door frameor casing. The member 8 is provided at its rear end with an enlargedheel or head 16.

Threadedly or otherwise engaged with the opposite sides of the case 1 isan alining or coaxial pair of tubular guides or sleeves 17 projecting inopposite directions away from one another, and slidably receiving theplungers 18 having their adjacent ends cut obliquely to provide cams 19cooperable with the heel 16 of the member 8, as clearly seen byreference to Fig. 2, whereby when one of the plungers is pressedinwardly, it will force the member 8 forwardly to retract the latchbolt.

Suitable knobs 20 are engaged upon the remote ends of the tubular guides'17 and are provided with bores 21 through which reduced stems 22 of theplungers 18 project slidably, the plungers being held within the guides17 by means of the knobs 20, and said knobs are preferably threaded uponthe guides 17 to also hold the plates 23 against the sides of the door3. The knobs 20 have counter bores 24 receiving the guides 17. Each stem22 has a reduced extension 22 threaded into the respective plunger 18,whereby the stem can be adjusted relative to the plunger to projectproperly from the knob under various circumstances, washers 22 beingdisposed between the plunger 18 and stem 22 around the extension 22*.

To retract the latch bolt, from either side of the door, it is onlynecessary to push or press the stem of the respective plunger, whichwill force the member 8 forwardly, and therefore retract the latch bolt.As soon as the plunger is released, parts will be returned to initialposition under the influence of the spring 11.

With the present arrangement, the cams 19 are applied to the rear end orheel of a member to force the same forwardly for retracting the latchbolt, instead of utilizing the movement of the plungers for forcing themember rearwardly which would necessitate certain objectionablefeatures.

In the modification depicted in Figs. 4, 5 and 6, the latch bolt 5 isslidable through one edge of a case 1 and is provided within the casewith a longitudinal slot 6 engaged by a screw 7 threadedly engaging oneside of the case. Mounted within the case 1 above and parallel with thelatch bolt 5 is a reciprocatory member 8 having a longitudinal slot 9through which is engaged a retaining screw 10 threadedly engaging oneside of the case. The latch bolt 5 has a second longitudinal slot 9" inwhich is disposed a pin or screw 10 threadedly engaging one side of thecasing, and a coiled wire expansion spring 11 is disposed between thescrew 10 and forward end of the slot 9" for normally projecting thelatch bolt 5'. The member 8 has an enlarged heel or head 16, and isprovided with a lower recess 8 between the heel 16' and forward portionof the member 8. The member 8 slidably engages the upper edge of thecase 1, and the heel 16 is slidable upon a longitudinal wall 9 betweenthe member 8 and bolt 5. The forward end of the wall 9 has an upwardlyprojecting lug 10 within the recess 8 and contacting with the member 8to assist in guiding the same for longi tudinal movement.

In order to operatively connect the member 8 and bolt 5', a lever 14 isfulcrumed between its ends upon a screw or fulcrum element 15 threadedlyor otherwise engaging the aforesaid side of the case 1 and disposedwithin the recess 8 immediately in advance of the lug 10. The upper endof the lever 14, which is normally arranged obliquely, as seen in Fig.4, bears against the back of the heel l6, and the lower end or arm ofthe lever 14 bears against an outstanding lug or pin 12 with which thebolt 5 is provided at one side thereof. The lever 14 is disposed atthose sides of the member 8 and bolt 5 remote from the side of the casecarrying the screws, and the lever overlaps said member and bolt.

Threadedly or otherwise engaged with the case 1 are a plurality oftubular guides or sleeves 17 in which the plungers 18 are slidable, saidplungers having the cam ends 19' engaging the heel 16'. Said plungershave the reduced stems 22' slidable through the bores 21' of the knobs20 provided with the counter. bores 24' threadedly receiving the remoteends of the guides 17 Each of the stems 22 has a reduced threadedextension 22 threaded into its plunger 18', whereby the stem can beadjusted, and washers 22 are disposed between the stem and plungeraround the threaded extension. In this form, three plungers areillustrated, two of them being in alinement at the opposite sides of thecase, and the other working through the upper edge of the case. Theupper plunger is useful when the latch device is used on automobiledoors, and the like, when the latch bolt is operated from above, whilethe horizontal plungers are useful on ordinary doors which are operatedfrom opposite sides. Any one or two, or all three plungers can be used,as may be found expedient or necessary. It is evident that when any ofthe plungers is pressed inwardly, the forward movement or the member 8will be effected, so that the lever 14 being swung by the movement ofthe member 8 will force the lug 12 and the bolt 5' rearwardly. I

The use of the plungers in the various positions is also applicable tothe form illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, the same as with the formillustrated in Figs. 4 and 5.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. In a latch, a reciprocatory latch bolt, a'reciprocatory memberparallel with the latch bolt, an operative connection between saidmember and bolt whereby they reciprocate simultaneously in oppositedirections,

multaneously in opposite directions, a tubular guide carried by thecase, and a plunger slidable in said guide and having a cam end bearingagainst the heel end of said 15 second mentioned member to advance saidmember for retracting the latch bolt.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aflixedmy signature in the presence of two witnexes.

ARCHIBALD B. GRUBER.

Witnesses:

R. A. Coon, EUGENE T. GREEK.

